As the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus spreads around the world, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, along with Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Alison Arwady, has given the green touch to a disastrous supercast event.
During the last weekend of July, more than 100,000 people from across the country invaded Grant Park in downtown Chicago for the Lollapalooza Music Festival. generate millions of dollars for the city of Chicago as well as downtown businesses. It also serves as a potential catalyst for a large backlog of COVID-19 cases across the country.
Lollapalooza organizers, along with local government officials, said they take public physical activity seriously. Festival-goers must provide evidence of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 check within the last 72 hours to attend the festival, and festival-goers are encouraged. but it is only required in indoor spaces.
The festival takes place amid a sharp increase in the spread of COVID-19 in Chicago and Cook County. At the time of writing, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, deaths and positivity rates in Chicago have seen an increase from last week, according to knowledge spread across the city. In addition, CBS News reports that the CDC has stated that there is now a “substantial” spread of COVID-19 in Cook County.
New knowledge from Massachusetts has also revealed that other vaccinated people can catch and spread the new Delta variant. With this new clinical discovery, it is transparent that non-essential mass gatherings, even outdoors, and especially where masks are not needed, all have the prospect of being sites of widespread transmission of Covid-19.
Last month, Lori Lightfoot said racism is a public fitness crisis. While this in itself is true, Lightfoot’s resolution to stop Lollapalooza in a city where only 36% of black citizens are vaccinated, according to the city’s data, shows that it has no plans to address the public health crisis of racism. In fact, it just adds fuel to the fire!
If, in the coming days, Lollapalooza proves to be a large-scale event, the ramifications will get bigger beyond Chicago. Not only Chicago and Cook County will be affected by an increase in the number of cases due to large crowds of other people. crammed downtown and on public transportation, but spaces across the country, many with vaccination rates lower than a city like ChicagoArray will also delight in outbreaks when festival-goers return home.
The choice of the city of Chicago to host a great tourist charm right now obviously shows that it prioritizes the revenue of festivals like Lollapalooza over public health. To avoid another fatal wave of the pandemic, viral transmission will have to be taken seriously now, not later, and will have to be driven by the desires of the population, not by profits.
Featured image: Covid-19. Image credit: PIRO4D, Pixbay. com